National Security and Foreign Affairs

Lawmakers look to strip OPM after hack. It might be a little too late for this, but there's the making of a bipartisian movement in Congress to strip the Office of Personnel Management of its control over security clearances. "OPM was never designed to deal with national security," Rep.

MORE QUESTIONS ARISE ABOUT OPM HACK: Now that former OPM Director Katherine Archuleta has resigned, lawmakers and executive branch officials are starting to grapple with the long-term consequences of the theft of personal information for more than 21 million people from OPM networks.

Lawmakers are debating whether to strip the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) of its control over security clearances after hackers made off with nearly 20 million background check forms housed at the agency.

Reps. Ted Lieu (above) and Steve Russell plan to introduce legislation that would take oversight of the security clearance system away from OPM.

Sen. Mark Warner (Va.) on Thursday became the highest-ranking Democrat to call for the resignation of the agency head at the center of one what's thought to be the largest government hack ever.

Setting up a clash between counter-terrorism priorities and constitutional protection against unwarranted intrusion, three top federal law enforcement officials urged Congress and Silicon Valley to provide government agencies special access to encrypted cellphones and other Internet devices.